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MOVIES / ON DVD / 42ND STREET
42nd Street

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42nd Street (1933)

95%
N/A
74%
N/A
N/A
N/A
95 %
Reviews Counted: 20 Fresh: 19  Rotten:1 Average Rating: 7.8/10
Runtime: 90 mins
Synopsis:
Splashy Hollywood does splashy Broadway in this behind-the-scenes of a show musical. The leading lady is, as many times before, suddenly unavailable and the understudy chorus line girl is thrust into the limelight. Last minute preparations for opening night with the new star turn the... [More]
Splashy Hollywood does splashy Broadway in this behind-the-scenes of a show musical. The leading lady is, as many times before, suddenly unavailable and the understudy chorus line girl is thrust into the limelight. Last minute preparations for opening night with the new star turn the entire production on its ear before the big premiere. Many memorable tunes including: "Forty-Second Street," "Young and Healthy," "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me" and "Shuffle Off To Buffalo." [Less]

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Starring: Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers, Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels

Director: Lloyd Bacon
Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Screenwriter: James Seymour, Rian James
Composer: Al Dubin, Harry Warren

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 21, 2006

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Keep Case

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Ratings Image

This 1933 film is the best known of the Warner Brothers Depression-era musicals, though it doesn't compare in dash and extravagance to later entries in the cycle.

Full Review | Comment
10/16/07 03:45 PM
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
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The liveliest and one of the most tuneful screen musical comedies that has come out of Hollywood.

Full Review | Comment
08/08/06 03:16 AM
Mordaunt Hall
New York Times
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Of Golden Age musicals, 42nd Street is about as close to the archetype as they come.

Full Review | Comment
04/08/06 04:26 AM
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
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...the film that practically invented every backstage musical cliché we know today...remains a remarkable achievement for a film over seven decades old.

Full Review | Comment
03/22/06 09:35 AM
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com
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Berkeley choreographs chorines and camera with mischievous dexterity.

Full Review | Comment
01/26/06 03:15 AM
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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42nd Street may not be the best backstage musical ever made, but it's certainly the most enjoyable and durable in appeal--find out why.

Full Review | Comment
08/26/05 05:59 PM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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No review available.

| Comment
06/30/05 01:23 PM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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No review available.

| Comment
02/24/05 02:16 PM
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
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The strength of a musical is its songs, and this film had a mixed bag.

Full Review | Comment
02/15/04 08:03 AM
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies
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One can't say enough good things about what Busby Berkeley did for the musical.

Full Review | Comment
01/11/04 08:12 PM
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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No review available.

| Comment
08/22/03 06:58 PM
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
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No review available.

| Comment
05/30/03 04:00 PM
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
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The result is an absolute spectacular. Not to be missed.

Full Review | Comment
04/21/03 05:06 PM
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
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Busby Berkeley's astonishing choreography is singularly cinematic and still astonishing.

| Comment
04/11/03 04:01 PM
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner
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[Features] great Busby Berkeley production numbers.

Full Review | Comment
03/10/03 08:11 AM
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
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No review available.

| Comment
11/25/02 11:34 AM
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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Busby Berkeley choreography; Powell and Keeler plus all-star supporting cast. A Warner Bros. clasic musical, though campy by today's standards.

| Comment
08/22/02 04:05 PM
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
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The classic backstage musical, still great

| Comment
08/21/02 01:56 PM
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
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The real star, though, is the master of kaleidoscopic imagery, Busby Berkeley.

Full Review | Comment
01/01/00 12:00 AM
TV Guide's Movie Guide
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42nd Street (1933) is the classic, fast-paced, backstage movie musical - a refreshing film that changed the film musical forever and saved Warner Bros. studios from bankruptcy

Full Review | Comment
01/01/00 12:00 AM
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films
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